The present invention is directed toward a cutting grooves in cut trees such as Christmas trees for support stands, and particularly toward a portable device for making such cuts.
Every year, many evergreen trees are cut down and taken to homes where they are supported and decorated for holidays, particularly Christmas. Seasonal sales of such trees are extensive, with large numbers of trees often kept and sold from temporary sale locations such as parking lots. It is often desirable to have the trees stand at their sale locations, not only to better visually display the different sizes and shapes of trees but also to minimize damage to trees which can occur when the trees are laid down for long periods prior to being sold and taken to a home.
Support stands of varying types have been used to support these trees. For example, trees can be supported upright at the point of sale by an xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d cross of boards nailed to the bottom of the tree. While this is simple and relatively inexpensive, such boards must be removed from the tree either by the seller or the purchaser, since the cut tree must get water to keep it from drying out too much during the several holiday weeks when it will be on display (often in a low humidity interior) and the xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d cross of boards would interfere with placing a bottom of the tree trunk in a pan of water to reduce such drying. Further, such boards cannot always be easily properly oriented, resulting in a supported tree which either leans or may be easily knocked over.
Support stands used after the point of sale commonly include a water basin within which the tree trunk bottom is placed, with a support collar supported about the trunk with L-bolts spaced around the collar to adjustably secure the trunk upright inside the collar. However, such support stands require a special purchase and must be stored without any other use during the parts of the year when the stands are not needed.
German Patent No. DE 198 43 725 C1 discloses a tree support structure which overcomes many of the above problems. This structure uses two U-shaped stands secured in grooves cut in the tree, where the grooves and therefore the U-shaped stands are substantially at right angles similar to the xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d cross of boards discussed above to provide full lateral support in keeping the tree upright. However, since the cross-members of this structure are spaced from the bottom of the tree, they will not interfere with the placement of a water basin underneath the tree trunk to keep it from drying out too quickly. Of course, since that basin does then not need to support the tree, it can be any suitable basin which may be put to other uses throughout the year. German Patent No. DE 198 43 725 C1 discloses an apparatus for cutting the grooves in the tree trunk which are used with such tree stands. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, a box-shaped frame is provided with orthogonal horizontal and vertical support surfaces at one end for supporting the bottom portion of the tree trunk and two cutting tools supported on slides at that end to cut substantially orthogonal grooves in the tree trunk extending in generally that same direction. A chain hanging from an overhead arm at the other end of the frame supports the other end of the tree so that the tree is in a generally horizontal orientation when the grooves are cut. However, the hung tree end can swing somewhat, and the position of the tree can be affected by a combination of the chain length and the portion of the trunk to which the chain is secured. All of those variables can cause variations in the position of the trunk and therefore the orientation of the grooves relative to the trunk.
The present invention is an improvement upon the apparatus shown in German Patent No. DE 198 43 725 C1 for cutting grooves in trees, such as the grooves which may be used with the support stand disclosed therein.
In one aspect of the present invention, a device for cutting stand grooves in the trunk of a cut tree is provided, including a frame supportable in a generally horizontal orientation, a first trunk support secured above the frame for supporting a cut end of a cut tree trunk, a cutting element for cutting stand grooves in a trunk of a supported tree adjacent the first trunk support, and an upright support member selectively movable along the frame toward and away from the first trunk support. The upright support member secures a second trunk support above the frame for supporting another portion of a cut tree trunk spaced from the cut tree trunk cut end whereby a cut tree trunk may be substantially horizontally supported above the frame by the first and second trunk supports.
In various forms of this aspect of the invention: the frame includes a substantially horizontal track and the upright support member is movable along the track for positioning the second trunk support at a location clear of branches, the cutting element includes a pair of cutters, and the first trunk support includes two support surfaces downwardly tapered together to an intersection to define a notch therebetween for supporting the cut end of a cut tree trunk (with the two support surfaces defining an angle therebetween of less than 90 degrees, or approximately 60 degrees).
In another form, a hitch for attaching to a vehicle is attached to the frame distal to the cutting element; and wheels are attached to the frame adjacent the cutting element. In still another form, the first and second trunk supports are vertically adjustable to accommodate different size cut trees.
In another aspect, a portable device for cutting stand grooves in the trunk of a cut tree is provided, including a frame, a pair of wheels rotatably secured to one end of the frame, a hitch fixed to the other end of the frame whereby the frame may be attached to a vehicle and pulled on the wheels behind the vehicle, a support at the frame one end including a first trunk support for supporting a cut end of a cut tree trunk and a cutting element for cutting stand grooves in a trunk of a supported tree, a horizontal track on the frame extending toward and away from the frame one end support, and an upright support member selectively movable along the frame toward and away from the first trunk support. The upright support member secures a second trunk support above the frame for supporting another portion of a cut tree trunk spaced from the cut tree trunk cut end whereby a cut tree trunk may be substantially horizontally supported above the frame by the first and second trunk supports.